Conveyer for use with machines for proofing cartons and the like



c. w. HARTMANN Sept. 1,1942.

CONVEYER FOR USE WITH MACHINES FOR PROOFING CARTONS AND THE LIKE FiledApril 27, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l OPNE Y5 p 1942. c. w. HARTMANN 2,294,593

CONVEYER FOR USE WITH MACHINES FOR PRQOFING CARTONS AND THE LIKE FiledApril 27, 1940- 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 1, 1942. c. w. HARTMANN 2,294,598

CONVEYER FOR USE WITH MACHINES FOR PROOFING CARTONS' AND THE LIKE FiledApril 27, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Pee Sept. 1, 1942. c. w. HARTMANNCONVEYER FOR USE WITH MACHINES FOR PROOFING 'CARTONS AND THE LIKE FiledApril 27, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Tmw 4 T ratavs vs Patented Sept. 1, 1942s PATENT OFFICE CONVEYER FOR USE WITH MACHINES FOR PROOFING CARTON S ANDTHE LIKE Carl Wilhelm Hartmann,

hagen, Denmark, assignor Edinburgh, Scotland Lyngby, near Copento SatonaLimited,

Application April .27, 1940, Serial No. 332,029 In Great Britain May 26,1939 Claims.

This invention relates to conveyers for use with machines for proofingcartons and the like, e. g. in which empty cartons with closed bases arefed through a bath of molten wax and then transferred by conveying meansto a filling or collecting zone. The chief object of this invention isto provide conveying means which firmly supports the individual cartonsso that during their conveyance they can be subjected to one or moreoperations such as e. g. scraping off surplus wax or filling them withthe desired commodity. Another object of this invention is to provideconveying means which does not injure the proofing on the cartons andenables surplus proofing material on the cartons to be disposed ofbefore solidifying into uneven parts on the cartons, thereby effectingeconomy in the proofing material and obtaining substantially uniformlycoated cartons. A still further object of this invention is to provide aconveyer which will eifectively co-operate with the proofing apparatusdescribed in co-pending application No. 332,034, filed the 27th ofApril, 1940.

According to one form of this invention conveying means for cartonscomprises an endless conveyer with an upper conveying track and providedwith a plurality of equi-distantly spaced carton engaging abutments, anumber of knife edge carton supports extending along the carton basesupporting plane, and means adapted to scrape the bases of the conveyedcartons arranged subjacent to said upper track.

In order that this invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect drawings are appended hereto illustratin anembodiment thereof as applied to the wax coating apparatus described inthe said co-pending application, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation view showing the relativepositions of the waxing apparatus and partly the conveying means, theremainder of the conveying means also being shown in diagrammatic sideelevation in Fig. 1a.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the receiving end of the conveyer.

Fig. 3 is a sectional end elevation of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of a number of carton pushing bars of theconveying means.

Referring to the drawings the apparatus and conveying means shown isadapted for coatin a set and conveying a number of such sets of cartonssimultaneously. The cartons l are delivered by fingers 42 off one end ofa supplv conveyer (not shown) into carton supports 43 carried by a drum45 rotating in a casing surmounting a wax bath 4|. Gripping members 5|(see Fig. l) operated by levers 48 and links 50 grip the cartons in thesupports 4| as described in the said co-pending application, and thedrum rotates in the direction of the arrows.

Riollers 52 traversing guide rails 53 impart oscillation to the cartonsupports as they pass from the supply stage containing the fingers 42 tothe discharge stage containing a transverse set of withdrawing members55 hereinafter more fully described, these members 55 delivering the waxcoated cartons on to the upper track of a conveyer 51. Heaters maintainthe wax in the bath molten, and abutments 49 and 49a operate the levers48 at the appropriate points.

Subjacent to and parallel with the upper track of the conveyer 51 are anumber of parallel base rails (four pairs being shown by way of example)on to which are delivered the cartons by the members 55, these members55 having upstanding fingers 56 at their ends remote from the conveyerto abut against the trailing sides of the cartons as the said members 55are engaged by the bases of the set of cartons in the appropriatesupports 43 and then moved forwardly between the said base rails todeposit the cartons upon the entrant ends of such rails.

The said conveyer 51 carries equi-distantly spaced transverse rods 58which in the upper track of the conveyer pass beneath and in planeparallel with the plane containing longitudinal guide rails 59, so thatviewed in plan the rods 58 intersect the rails and afford a large numberof square frames each receiving a single carton.

The arrangement of the said guide rails 59 comprises five parallelequi-distantly placed metal bars sufficiently widely spaced to lightlyengage tWo sides of each carton, the five bars being provided forconveying cartons in sets of four. At the entrant end of the conveyerthe longitudinal bars are located so as to receive between them thecartons transferred by the beforesaid members 55 from the holders 43 ofthe apparatus for coating the cartons with wax. The other end of theconveyer is provided with five segmental or part annular plates 68 toassist in guiding the cartons on to a collecting table or on to anotherconveyer 56, the cartons passing through substantially on to thecollectin table or conveyer 6B and the inner arcuate edges of the plates58 are preferablyv shaped so as to be in continuity with the guide rails59.

The transverse rods 58 are connected across a plurality of L shapedplates 69 fixed by depending lugs II! to links H connected. together toform two endless parallel chains comprising the conveyer 51.

The means for removing surplus wax from the bases of the cartonscomprises a pluralit of transversely disposed horizontal blades 12 withsharp upper edges, the blades being inclined so as to afford the mostsuitable scraping action. These blades are supported grid-fashion ininclined slots cut in the upper edges of four pairs of the longitudinalangle section bars comprising the base rails 60, each such pair of railsbeing symmetrically arranged, the upper edges 01 these angle sectionrail bars preferably being bevelled as at 60a 50 as to avoid collectingwax upon their upper edges and to afford only edge contact with thebases of the cartons. A tray or trays 63 is or are located immediatelybeneath the rails 60 for collecting th wax dripping from the cartons andcan be heated by heaters 64 so as to keep the collected wax in a moltencondition to enable it to flow back to the bath, and this can beeffected by means of a draining cook 13. The blades 12 can be heated andobtain heat from the same source as the trays 63.

The members 55 for transferring the cartons from the holders of theWaxing apparatus can comprise four fingers, each as shown in the form ofan inverted L-shaped plate, the upper limb of each such plate beingtapered to a point at its free end which is formed with a barb-likeprojection 56 to engage against the inner edge of the appropriate cartonto be removed from its holder. The vertical limbs of the four L- shapedplates are secured to a transverse bar 14 which has imparted to it areciprocating motion so synchronized with the movements of the holders43 that the upper limbs of these L-shaped plates engage and are urgedunder the bases of the cartons in the holders as the holders occupy aposition with their bases slightly below the plane of the upper edges ofthe upper limbs of the L shaped plates. After the carton holders havedescended sufficiently to clear the members 55 these members areretracted to pull the cartons towards the conveyer 51. The holders 43consist of open frames or narrow rods as shown and the L-shaped bars canpass between the rods at the appropriate stage. The upper edges of the Lshaped plates are arranged in substantially the same plane as the upperedges of a horizontal plate 15 located just beneath and close to theupper track of the chains comprising the conveyer 51, so that thecartons are carried on to such plate by the co-operative movements ofthe L shaped plates and the transverse rods 58 of the conveyer, thehorizontal plate 15 being slotted as at 16 to allow the feeding plates55 to pass therethrough.

The frame 64 through which th conveyer 51 passes may be shaped to carrya suitable filling apparatus 8| to enable the cartons to be filled. Thisapparatus, if desired, can have sealing means 64 provided therewith forclosing the cartons.

The conveyer 51 preferably has an intermittent movement imparted to itby means of Maltesecross or other suitabl driving mechanism indicateddiagrammatically at 6! in Fig. 1. The cartons are thus moved step bystep, and at each period when the conveyer is stationary cartons areplaced thereon at one end. This also enables a carton filling operation,and also if desired a sealing operation to be carried out at eachstationary period.

The means for obtaining the intermittent feed of the feeding plates 55can comprise a reciprocating carriage l1 operated by an oscillating armTia and supported by rollers 18 running on two parallel guide rails 18a.The transverse bars 58 which push the cartons along the knife edgedguide rails 59 are provided with thin plates 79 with V shaped teeth toengage the cartons so that only point contact is made with the trailingwalls of the cartons. By this means disfiguring marks on the cartons dueto pressure on the soft wax is obviated. The longitudinal guide rails 59can be supported from the machine frame by vertial rods 59a, and fittedwith thin plates 5% to engage the cartons.

I claim:

1. Conveying means for transferring cartons and the like from waxing orcoating means comprising an endless conveyer with an upper conveyingtrack and provided with a plurality of equidistantly spaced cartonengaging abutments, a number of knife edge carton supports extendingalong the carton base supporting plane, and means adapted to scrape thebases of the conveyed cartons arranged subjacent to said upper track.

2. Conveying means for transferring cartons and the like from waxing orcoating means comprising a conveyer constituted by a parallel pair ofendless members, a plurality of equi-distantly spaced transverse pushingmembers supported across said parallel pair of endless conveyor members,and a plurality of stationary longitudinal guide rails disposed abovethe upper track of the conveying members so that the pushing members andrails are arranged in intersecting directions and aflord a large numberof substantially rectangular frames each adapted to receive a carton,the pushing members moving 'translatively along the longitudinal uiderails to carry the cartons or the like to the filling or collectingzone, a number of parallel longitudinal carton supporting bars uponwhich the bases of the conveyed cartons are supported, and a pluralityof scrapers for removing surplus wax from the carton bases arrangedgrid-fashion transversely across the said longitudinal supports.

3. Conveying means for transferring cartons and the like from waxing orcoating means comprising an endless conveyor with an upper con- 'veyingtrack, a plurality of equi-distantly spaced carton engaging abutmentscarried by said conveyer and and afiording only point contact with thecartons, and means adapted to scrape the bases of the conveyed cartonsarranged subjacen-t to said upper track.

4. Conveying means for transferring cartons and the like from waxing orcoating means comprising a pair of parallel endless conveyor memberswith an upper conveying track, a plurality of equidistantly spacedtransverse car-ton engaging abutment bars disposed transversely acrosssaid pair of conveyer members, means adapted to scrape the bases of theconveyed-cartons arranged subjacent to said upper track, longitudinaluide rails for the cartons parallel with said conveyer member, and aheated wax collecting vessel arranged immediately subjacent to saidscraping means.

5. Conveying means for transferring cartons and the like from waxing orcoating means comprising an endless conveyor with an upper conveyingtrack and provided with a plurality of equi-distantly spaced transversebars with pointed carton engaging projections acting as carton engagingabutments, a number of knife edged longitudinal carton supports upon theknife edges of which the bases of the conveyed cartons are supported,and a plurality of scrapersfor removing surplus wax from the cartonbases arranged substantially transversely across the said longitudinalsupports with scraping edgeson a plane close to the plane of the saidknife edges.

CARL WILHELM ,HARTMANN.

